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Memphis Sends Series To Game 7

With a 90-88 win over the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center, the Memphis Grizzlies swung momentum back in their favor, forcing Game 7 as they try to become the ninth team in NBA history to overcome a 3-1 deficit and win the series. And with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin not at 100 percent, this resurgent and dangerous Grizzlies team might just do it.

Memphis had their work cut out for them facing a playoff hole, but the Grizzlies believed they should have been up in the series. After a historic Game 1 collapse and losing a few close games in LA, the Grizzlies were right to think so. But it wasn’t until they started getting their star post players involved that Memphis was able to prove it. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol have had back-to-back phenomenal games and with the offense operating through their post players, the Grizzlies once again look like the deadly playoff team that knocked the top seeded Spurs out in the first round last year. After blowing a few double digit leads in the series, it was the Grizzlies who owned the fourth quarter in Game 6, chipping away at an eight point deficit and eventually taking a five point lead with just under three minutes to play. Without Chris Paul making clutch shots or assists to Blake Griffin, the Clippers had little chance of coming back, even with their home crowd waiting to go wild if their team had been able to give them anything to cheer about.

Blake Griffin and Chris Paul have to give it everything they’ve got in Game 7 or Lob City will have to wait until next year.

Now the series shifts back to Memphis, with all the momentum in the Grizzlies’ favor. CP3 and Griffin aren’t at full strength. Memphis has won two games in a row. Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol have come to life and look impossible to stop. And Mike Conley is matching Lob City’s star point guard blow for blow. So even though O.J. Mayo and Marreese Speights might be done contributing for the series, the Clippers’ problems with their starting lineup look to be far more troublesome. In fact, it was Los Angeles’ bench that kept the Clippers in the game last night. Eric Bledsoe had 14 points, Kenyon Martin had 10 and Reggie Evans had six points and 10 rebounds while playing his physical brand of defense that helped give his team their 3-1 advantage. Unfortunately for the Clips, Gasol and Randolph are unstoppable right now.

Gasol led the Grizzlies with 23 points and nine rebounds while Z-Bo had 18 points and 16 rebounds. Mike Conley pitched in 13 points and nine assists while Rudy Gay chipped in 13 points of his own. And even though the Grizzlies lost the turnover battle by a large margin (Memphis had 20 comported to LAC’s seven), they also out-rebounded the Clippers by 16. Memphis has been getting the job done down low, they’re now settling for outside jump shots in the fourth quarter, and because of it, they have a great chance to win this series. It’s hard to underestimate Chris Paul in the playoffs, but if he’s not playing at full strength (and he certainly didn’t look like he was last night), Lob City’s promising first year together might come to an abrupt end Sunday morning. The Clippers have their work cut out for them to win an elimination game in front of a packed house in Memphis that knows Los Angeles is vulnerable and believes they can win. If the Grizzlies continue to operate through their talented posts and the Clippers’ two superstars aren’t at 100 percent, Memphis will easily advance.

Z-Bo and Gasol have been unstoppable in the past two games. Will they finish the Clippers off at home?